Diego writes about road trips, state parks and the long empty stretches in between. He has driven every mile of US-90 between Del Rio and Van Horn, several times, on purpose.
Diego joined from a Corpus Christi alt-weekly. He is responsible for most of the
mileage on our expense reports and all of the good campsite intelligence.
A pancake with brown butter and sea salt, a chicken biscuit with jalapeno honey butter, and a lawn full of peacocks. Austin's brunch argument, settled for 2026.
4.7
By Diego Salinas★★12 min read
Photo: Hell's Gate at Possum Kingdom Lake, twin cliffs over blue water
Texas has close to 7,000 lakes and almost every one of them was poured on purpose. These are the ten worth packing a bag for, checked against July 2026 water levels, park fees and ramp closures.
Texas added 391,243 people last year, more than any other state, and every one of them had to pick a town. We ran the numbers on housing, schools, safety and jobs to settle where the moving trucks should actually stop.
Texas is roughly 800 miles across, so nobody sees it all in one trip. We checked the fees, the seasons and thousands of traveler reviews to settle which corners of the state earn the drive.
4.8
By Diego Salinas★★14 min read
Photo: A resort pool terrace above the Texas Hill Country at sunset
From a 600 acre Hill Country spread with its own water park to a 40 cottage spa on Lake Austin, these are the Texas resorts worth the rate, compared and checked in July 2026.
Dallas gets sold as a stopover town. That is how visitors end up at a mall while a $90 million park sits on top of a freeway ten minutes away. Twelve places worth your day, five of them free, all of them open right now.
Texas has ninety-odd state parks and one reservation system that punishes the unprepared. These six are worth the drive, the fee, and the five-month wait.
4.7
By Diego Salinas★★7 min read
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